A daily prayer blog by Bob Hostetler, the author of The Red Letter Prayer Life and the 31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids iPhone and iPad app. Just one prayer each day. Seldom more. Seldom very long. Sometimes personal. Sometimes original. Always sincere.

We bring before You, O God:the cries of the weary,the pains of the distressed,the tears of the tragedies of life,the anxious hours of the insecure,the restlessness of the refugees,the hunger of the oppressed.

Dear God, be near to each.

Helper of the helpless,Hope of the homeless,The Strength of those tossed with tempests,The Haven of those who sail:Be all to all.

Be within us, to strengthen us;without us, to keep us;above us, to inspire us;beneath us, to uphold us;before us, to direct us;behind us , to propel us;around us, to sustain us.Be all to all in present need.

Abba, my language isn't sufficient for you. I can't express your beauty, your majesty, not even your presence. I know that no matter where I go, you are there. You do not arrive after me, you do not even arrive before me. You are not even, to be accurate, already "there," for the "there" itself is not a place you occupy, any more than a moment is a moment to you...the "there" itself--like the "now" or the "then"--is found in you, not you in it, for everywhere and always is in you.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, but I praise you in my ignorance and littleness.

O Greater Light, we praise You for the less; The eastern light our spires touch at morning, The light that slants upon our western doors at evening, The twilight over stagnant pools at batflight, Moon light and star light, owl and moth light, Glow-worm glowlight on a grassblade.

O Light Invisible, we worship You! We thank You for the lights that we have kindled, The light of altar and of sanctuary; Small lights of those who meditate at midnight And lights directed through the colored panes of windows And light reflected from the polished stone, The gilded carven wood, the colored fresco. Our gaze is submarine, our eyes look upward And see the light that fractures through unquiet water. We see the light but see not whence it comes.

O Light Invisible, we glorify You! In our rhythm of earthly life, we tire of light. We are glad when the day ends, when the play ends; and ecstasy is too much pain. We are children quickly tired: children who are up in the night and fall asleep as the rocket is fired; and the day is long for work or play. We tire of distraction or concentration, we sleep and are glad to sleep, Controlled by the rhythm of blood and the day and the night and the seasons. And we must extinguish the candle, put out the light and relight it; Forever must quench, forever relight the flame.

Therefore we thank You for our little light, that is dappled with shadow. We thank You who has moved us to building, to finding, to forming at the ends of our fingers and beams of our eyes. And when we have built an altar to the Invisible Light, we may set thereon the little lights for which our bodily vision is made. And we thank You that darkness reminds us of light.

Lord, I am helpless without you. I am powerless without you. I am wholly, thoroughly inadequate without you. I am empty, weak, ineffectual without you.

But in you, abiding in you, I am more than a conqueror. In you, I can move mountains. In you, I can leap over a wall, overthrow kingdoms, shut the mouths of lions, rout armies...in you, abiding in you and walking in your Spirit, I can do all things through Christ, who is my strength. Amen.

Lord, have mercy on Calleigh. Lord, have mercy on Bob. Lord, have mercy on Lynette. Lord, have mercy on Mike. Lord, have mercy on Sandy. Lord, have mercy on Calvin. Lord, have mercy on Austin. Lord, have mercy on Richard. Lord, have mercy on Kurtis. Lord, have mercy on Philip. Lord, have mercy on Joe. Lord, have mercy on Jim. Lord, have mercy on Michael. Lord, have mercy on Jason. Lord, have mercy on Dee. Lord, have mercy on Missie. Lord, have mercy on Sara. Lord, have mercy on Jack.

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks and praise. Today the Lord Jesus, the king of glory, the conqueror of sin and death, ascended to heaven while the angels sang his praises.

Christ, the mediator between God and humankind, judge of the world and Lord of all, has passed beyond our sight, not to abandon us but to be our hope. Christ is the beginning, the head of the Church; where he has gone, we hope to follow.

The joy of the resurrection and ascension renews the whole world, while the choirs of heaven sing for ever to your glory: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

because by it I learn to love light;for sickness,weariness,loneliness,pain,boredom,cold,thirst,for emptiness, idleness, helplessness,for by all such things you teach me gratitude and remind me that all good and perfect gifts come down to me from your hand, by your grace, in Jesus' name, amen.

Thank you, Lord God, for the1 wife you have given me,2 children I'm so proud of,2 awesome people they married,2 wonderful parents I was born to, 2 older brothers I grew up with,2 paid-off cars that still run,2 accountability partners to meet with,2 sharp eyes,2 good ears,2 strong legs,2 good arms,3 amazing grandchildren,3 fine pastors I labor beside,4 godly grandparents,4 trips to Israel we've enjoyed,4 churches I've pastored,10 fingers to type with,30 years of ministry,33 years of marriage, and more than52 years, and more than625 months, and more than19,027 days, and more than456,648 hours, and more than27,406,080 minutes of life so far.

Abba, as I enter into three days of conflict coaching and conciliation training this morning, please grant that I and all who gather will be thoroughly equipped, so as to make our church a peacemaking church, in Jesus' name, amen.

I look up, I look around, I look all over for help. Then I remember: my help comes from you, LORD, the One who made heaven and earth.I don't know why I ever look to anything or anyone else. You hold onto me. You never take your eyes off me. You're never surprised, never confused, never overwhelmed.

For the beauty of this day, for the fragrance of honeysuckle, for the rising of the sun, for the flight of the sparrow, for the blood in my veins, and the impulses of my brain, for the precise mixture in the air I breathe, for the gift of language and the consciousness and thought and spirit which all combine to graciously grant me the ability to praise you, Father, unto Thee I raise, This, my sacrifice of praise, in Jesus' name, amen.

O, Lord my God, teach my heart where and how to seek you, where and how to find you. Lord, if you are not here but absent, where shall I seek you? But you are everywhere, so you must be here, why then do I not seek you? Surely you dwell in light inaccessible – where is it? and how can I have access to light which is inaccessible? Who will lead me and take me into it so that I may see you there? . . . What shall your servant do, eager for your love, cast off far from your face? . . . You are my Lord and my God, and I have never seen you. You have created and re-created me, all the good I have comes from you, and still I do not know you, and I have not yet accomplished that for which I was made.

Dear Lord, you have sent me into this world to preach your word. So often the problems of the world seem so complex and intricate that your word strikes me as embarrassingly simple. Many times I feel tongue-tied in the company of people who are dealing with the world's social and economic problems.

But you, O Lord, said, 'Be clever as serpents and innocent as doves.' Let me retain innocence and simplicity in the midst of this complex world. I realize that I have to be informed, that I have to study the many aspects of the problems facing the world, and that I have to try to understand as well as possible the dynamics of contemporary society. But what really counts is that all this information, knowledge and insight allow me to speak more clearly and unambiguously your truthful word. Do not allow evil powers to seduce me with the complexities of the world's problems, but give me the strength to think clearly, speak freely, and act boldly in your service.

Give me the courage to show the dove in a world so full of serpents. Amen.

God grant them, today and every day that is to come, a love that burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame; the love which many waters cannot quench, and mighty rivers cannot wash away; the love which lasts longer than life is stronger than death, and is worth more than all the wealth in the world, in Jesus’ name, amen.

and all-impregnating forceand an all-coloring ingredient.Let it play no secondary part,be no mere coating.Train me in self-denying prayer,and make of my studya closet,a Bethel,an altar,a vision,and a ladder,that every thought might ascend heavenwardbefore it goes manward,that every part of my preachingmight be scented by the air of heavenand made serious,because you were there, in the study,in Jesus' name, amen.

Most gracious Father, bless with Thy special care all penitentiaries and homes of refuge. Look with pity upon those who are housed there. Guide and protect those who have returned to the world. Grant all of them true contrition for past sins, and strengthen them in their good resolutions. Lead them along from grace to grace so that by the help of the Holy Ghost they may persevere in the ways of obedience and humility, and in the struggle against evil thoughts and desires. Grant the Holy Spirit to those engaged in teaching and training them, that they might have a right judgment with respect to those entrusted to them. May they labor for love of Thee with deep humility and singleness of purpose, purity of heart and life, and true zeal for Thy glory and the salvation of souls. Give them faith and love to sustain them in disappointment, love and patience toward those under them, and in Thine own good time crown their work with an eternal recompense. This we ask in the name of Thine only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Lord, my God, you gave me life and restored it when I lost it. Tell my soul that so longs for you what else you are besides what it has already understood, so that it may see you clearly. It stands on tiptoe to see more, but apart from what it has seen already, it sees nothing but darkness. Of course it does not really see darkness, because there is no darkness in you, but it sees that it can see no further because of the darkness in itself.

Surely, Lord, inaccessible light is your dwelling place, for no one apart from yourself can enter into it and fully comprehend you. If I fail to see this light, it is simply because it is too bright for me. Still, it by this light that I do see all that I can, even as weak ees, unable to look straight at the sun, see all they can by the sun’s light.

The light in which you dwell, Lord, is beyond my understanding. It is so brilliant that I cannot bear it, I cannot turn my mind’s eye toward it for any length of time. I am dazzled by its brightness, amazed by its grandeur, overwhelmed by its immensity, bewildered by its abundance.

Strong Tower, I will run in the way of your statutes, andstand on your Word.

Taw

To you I lift my voice, O LORD;train me in your word.Turn your ear to my requests;to you I will cling.

The song of my heart sings your praise,teach me your decrees.Teach me to turn to you before all earthly help.Teach me to rely on your help.Teach me to delight in your law.Teach me to draw nourishment from your Word.

Touch me today, that I may praise you;tell me where to go and what to say. Amen.